NCMA: The Beyond - A Georgia O'Keeffe Exhibition

I’d like to start this article with this admission:

I often struggle with art . . . I struggle to appreciate it, and I find myself looking at art and sometimes pondering the following questions: What am I looking at? Why am I looking at this? How is this considered art? Whose text message just came through to my phone? I’m a very opinionated person with very few opinions of art and artists. But I try . . . and the question that I think I should be asking is: How does this make me feel?

All that said, my most recent experience at the North Carolina Museum of Art (NCMA) was different! I attended an exhibition entitled, “The Beyond – Georgia O’Keeffe and Contemporary Art.” There were several pieces in this exhibit that compelled me to pause, clear my mind, and stare into them with my mind wandering. Later in this blog post, I’ll elaborate on my favorite piece. It was one that I could probably reflect on and enjoy for hours.

But let’s start at the beginning. Well, actually . . .with this exhibit, I would recommend you start in the middle! But is there a proper way to navigate an art exhibition? Another question to add to my inquiries while struggling with art! BUT for this exhibition, there is a video room toward the back of the exhibit hall screening a 5 minute clip entitled “Step into the World of O’Keeffe.” Watching this video offers an instant appreciation of the artist and her mindset. The video portrays O’Keeffe as a beautiful person with an honesty and innocence that can only be described as childlike. Contextualizing the pieces in the exhibit with a better understanding of the artist herself allowed a different level of appreciation for the art than I had previously experienced.

O’Keeffe’s timeline is also quite interesting. She had her first exhibition in New York in 1917. New York became the subject of many of O’Keeffe’s paintings until she traveled to New Mexico where she shifted her focus to the desert ‘life’ and created iconic O’Keeffe works that many people know best. In truth, her body of work is quite varied. Towards the end of her life, O’Keeffe had her head in the clouds . . . almost literally. The clouds O’Keeffe depicts in later works reflect a different artistic focus for O’Keeffe. The name of this exhibit, “The Beyond,” references O’Keeffe’s final pieces as the work recalled looking out the window while flying, seeing the clouds and the beyond . . .

I’ve probably never been so instantly intrigued by an artist about whom I’d previously known very little. Of course, I recognized the Santa Fe skull imagery, and knew that O’Keeffe has long been revered in the artistic community. Perhaps I was intrigued by O’Keefe’s inner strength, her independence, or the way she seemed to project herself so intimately into her work. Or maybe it was her unique vision seeing life rather than death in the skull of a dead animal. Whatever the reason, I really enjoyed her works in this exhibit. I highly recommend giving this exhibit a look-see, and maybe it will speak to you as well. And maybe . . . just maybe, you’ll gain an appreciation of O’Keeffe AND emerge with a new interest in art altogether.

In the gallery below, you’ll see some images from this exhibit. It goes without saying that you need to see these pieces up close and in person to appreciate them fully. The pics in the gallery merely give you an idea of what to expect when you visit the NCMA for “The Beyond.”

The Georgia O’Keeffe exhibit runs from Oct 13, 2018 – Jan 20, 2019

Now!! On to the piece that not only caught my attention, but made me turn around at the end of the exhibit, walk back, and get in position for further examination, extended reflection, and wanding mind. And feelings. Gasp!

One of the most interesting things about this exhibit is that “The Beyond” also includes pieces by emerging artists influenced by Georgia O’Keeffe and museum-goers can see O’Keefe’s themes, techniques, and style expanded upon in the work of artists today.

This piece is titled Light Atlas, it is by Cynthia Daignault and consists of 360 small paintings of scenes from a road trip she took around the United States in 2014. I like the piece for several reasons, but I really feel the honesty that is portrayed. Daignault didn’t sit down and plan her work to capture a whim or the fleeting attention of her audience. Instead she began a journey and she let that journey create and become the art. In this display, Daignault seemed to become the paintbrush, and the journey created this work. She ‘rolled the dice and let the chips fall where they will.‘ In doing so, she created one of the most honest and touching pieces of American art that I’ve ever seen. Be sure to give this piece a close look. There are 360 individual paintings, each representing an individual’s daily view of America. Perhaps yours is included amongst them.

Cynthia Daignault will be at the NCMA for a Gallery Talk on December 7th.